Geographic Trends in the Midterm Elections

As Americans woke up this morning and checked their usual news outlet – whether the television, newspaper, or Internet – they were met with the results of one of the most closely watched midterm elections in years. The New York Times reported that yesterday’s election was one of the largest House shakeups of the last 50 years, with a 60-seat shift giving the Republicans a House majority. While the Senate still retains a Democratic majority, Republicans gained six Senate seats yesterday as well.

If you are interested in learning more about this year’s midterm elections, the New York Times has several resources – articles, maps, and graphs – that clearly illustrate this year’s election results and compare them to past elections. A set of interactive maps and graphs called “A Historic Shift” show how much each demographic group has driven the Republican wave over the past two years.

The Wall Street Journal has a multitude of articles as well, including a great interactive map that clearly shows the geographic trends across the country. In the House election results, New England seems to be the only region that held strongly in favor of Democrats, with the notable exception of New Hampshire. The Senate election results followed a more traditional trend of Democratic winners on the coasts, and Republican winners in the center, with the notable exception of Colorado.

Check out the numerous resources available online and see how your fellow voters decided to use their vote this midterm election!

Subscribe to our newsletters!

Get monthly updates delivered right to your inbox! Subscribe to either our Compass Educator newsletter or our Compass Family newsletter, OR BOTH! Click the link and mark your choice under the "Geographic Genius" section of the page.